1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cooling systems for combustion engines and, more specifically, to an oil cooling system to provide enhanced thermal control for combustion engines utilizing an oil cooling system that will maintain the temperature of the oil that lubricates the engine components and will work in parallel with the traditional liquid cooling systems currently in use to prevent an engine from overheating even under extreme conditions.
Extreme heat conditions wreak havoc with combustion engines when the liquid coolant systems are unable to effectively maintain adequate thermal control of the engine because they only cool the cylinder head thereby resulting in overheating and possible engine damage. The oil lubricating the engine likewise increases in temperature as it passes through the heated components and serves to further transfer the heat to other related components thus contributing to the overheated condition rather than rectifying it. Furthermore, a high oil temperature greatly increases the rate of viscosity breakdown thereby compromising the effectiveness of the lubricating properties of the oil which could lead to engine damage.
The present invention seeks to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by introducing a means for maintaining the oil within the oil sump at a predetermined temperature range in order to act as a secondary coolant system working in parallel with the standard liquid coolant system to provide improved thermal control thereof. The cooled oil is returned to the sump rather than introduced to the engine so as to avoid a sudden temperature change therein which could lead to a very dangerous and expensive engine failure. The oil cooling system of the present invention serves to cool all of the engine components that the oil comes in contact with while the liquid cooling system cools only the cylinder head.
The oil pump of the present invention is constantly in operation as the engine is running and the thermo-reactive valve remains closed under normal thermal conditions thereby routing the oil through a bypass conduit and by-pass valve that returns the oil to the sump. This provides a continuous flow of oil from the sump in order to maintain physical contact with the temperature sensors for accurate and immediate representation of the oil temperature being fed into the engine from the sump. The by-pass valve is always open during normal operating conditions to relieve pressure build-up since the pump is operating at all times even when the thermo-reactive valve is closed. It also prevents oil degradation from the high pressure and heat that would result therefrom. The by-pass valve closes during high temperature conditions to prevent pressure loss into the radiator due to oil traveling through the by-pass conduit.
The oil cooling system of the present invention is flexible and may be adapted to accommodate a plurality of applications according to the needs of the engine to be cooled and the environmental conditions under which it will be used. There are many variables that may be factored in when designing the specifications of the oil cooling system for a particular application such as the high limit settings of the temperature sensors, the size of the radiator and fan, the rate and amount of oil flow through the radiator as determined by the oil pump and conduit diameter.
The oil cooling system of the present invention may be manufactured into new engines or may be independent and retrofit to existing engines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other cooling systems for combustion engines, while these cooling systems may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.